La Liga 2018–19
| winners = Barcelona (26th title) | promoted = | relegated = Girona Huesca Rayo Vallecano | continental_cup1 = UEFA Champions League | continental_cup_qualified1 = Barcelona Atlético Madrid Real Madrid | continental_cup2 = UEFA Europa League | continental_cup_qualified2 = | matches_played = 380 | total_goals = 983 | average_goals = | league_topscorer = Lionel Messi (36 goals) | biggest_home_win = Barcelona 8–2 Huesca (2 September 2018) | biggest_away_win = Levante 0–5 Barcelona (16 December 2018) | highest_scoring = Barcelona 8–2 Huesca (2 September 2018) | prev_season = 2017–18 | next_season = 2019–20 }} The 2018–19 La Liga season, also known as La Liga Santander for sponsorship reasons, was the 88th since its establishment. The season began on 17 August 2018 and finished on 19 May 2019. Fixtures for the 2018–19 season were announced on 24 July 2018. This was the first La Liga season using VAR. Barcelona are the defending champions. Huesca, Rayo Vallecano and Real Valladolid join as the promoted clubs from the 2017–18 Segunda División. They replaced Málaga, Las Palmas and Deportivo La Coruña who were relegated to the 2018–19 Segunda División. Barcelona were crowned as league winners for the second season in a row on 28 April, after defeating Levante UD with 3 games to spare. Summary Several clubs made managerial changes before the start of the season. Among them were Real Madrid, when Zinedine Zidane resigned following the club's third consecutive UEFA Champions League victory. He was replaced by Julen Lopetegui, who was managing the Spanish national team at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia at the time of announcement and was dismissed from that job as a result. Other incomers included Pablo Machín at Sevilla, who was hired after his success with newly promoted Girona the previous season. In the transfer window, the biggest deal saw Real Madrid lose Cristiano Ronaldo to Juventus for a fee of €112 million; the Portuguese forward had scored 450 goals in 438 games during his nine years in the Spanish capital. Real Madrid's additions included Belgium international goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois for €35 million from Chelsea, and striker Mariano returned to the club from Lyon for €22 million. Defending champions Barcelona added Clément Lenglet to their defence, Arturo Vidal to midfield, and spent over €40 million on Brazilian forward Malcom. Players exiting Barcelona included Andrés Iniesta at the end of a successful 16-year-spell, as he signed for Vissel Kobe in Japan. Veterans Gabi and Fernando Torres also left Atlético Madrid for new teams in Asia, while the same club welcomed in the likes of World Cup-winning French midfielder Thomas Lemar and Portugal's Gelson Martins. After a successful previous season, in which the team finished fourth and returned to the Champions League, Valencia made permanent the loan signing of Portuguese winger Gonçalo Guedes from Paris Saint-Germain. Forward Simone Zaza and midfielder João Cancelo both left to Italy, while Kevin Gameiro and Geoffrey Kondogbia arrived as replacements. Athletic Bilbao sold Kepa Arrizabalaga to Chelsea for €80 million, a world record fee for a goalkeeper. The tenth round of matches featured the first El Clásico of the season, which Barcelona won 5–1 at home against Real Madrid with a hat-trick by Luis Suárez. The result put Madrid into 9th place, and led to the dismissal of Lopetegui after only five months.Other early pace-setters included Sevilla with their prolific strike partnership of André Silva and Wissam Ben Yedder,Alavés who were briefly league leaders in mid-October, Espanyol, and Valladolid who had been taken over by former Brazil international Ronaldo. Teams Promotion and relegation (pre-season) A total of 20 teams will contest the league, including 17 sides from the 2017–18 season and three promoted from the 2017–18 Segunda División. This will include the two top teams from the Segunda División, and the winners of the play-offs. Teams relegated to Segunda Division The first team to be relegated from La Liga were Málaga. Their relegation was ensured on 19 April 2018, following a late 1−0 defeat to Levante, ending their 10-year spell in the top division. The second team to be relegated were Las Palmas, after a 4−0 home defeat to Deportivo Alavés on 22 April 2018, ending their three-year spell in the league. The last team to be relegated were Deportivo La Coruña, following a 4−2 home loss to Barcelona on 29 April 2018. This result ensured Deportivo's third relegation in seven years, and also handed Barcelona their 25th La Liga title. Teams promoted from Segunda Division On 21 May 2018, Huesca promoted to La Liga for the first time ever by winning 2–0 at Lugo. Rayo Vallecano was the second team to earn promotion to La Liga on 27 May 2018 by winning against Lugo as well, this time 1–0. Rayo returns after a two-year absence. Real Valladolid was the last team to be promoted after beating Sporting Gijón and Numancia in the play-offs. Valladolid returned to top division after 4 years. This was the first season since the 2014–15 season without any teams from the archipelagos of Spain (teams located on the Balearic Islands and Canary Islands) since Las Palmas was relegated and Tenerife failed to qualify for the promotion play-offs. Stadia and locations As of 21 May 2018, these are the teams qualified. Personnel and sponsorship } Francisco | Juanjo Camacho}} | |Huesca La Magia, DISA, Bodega Sommos, Grupo Cosehisa, El Dorado, Ambar |- | | Mauricio Pellegrino}} | Unai Bustinza}} | | BeSoccer }} |- | | Paco López}} | Pedro López}} | | }} |- | | Paco Jémez}} | Adri Embarba}} | | }} |- | | Quique Setién}} | Joaquín}} | | BeSoccer }} |- | | Zinedine Zidane}} | Sergio Ramos}} | | |- | | Imanol Alguacil}} | Asier Illarramendi}} | | Reale Seguros }} |- | | Joaquín Caparrós}} | Jesús Navas}} | | }} |- | | Marcelino}} | Daniel Parejo}} | | Sesderma, Alfa Romeo }} |- | | Sergio González}} | Javi Moyano}} | | }} |- | | Javier Calleja}} | Bruno}} | | }} |} :1. On the back of shirt. :2. On the sleeves. :3. On the shorts. Managerial changes League table Season statistics Scoring *'First goal of the season': Roger Martí for Levante against Real Betis (17 August 2018) *'Last goal of the season': Pablo de Blasis for Eibar against Barcelona (19 May 2019) Top goalscorers Top assists Zamora Trophy The Zamora Trophy is awarded by newspaper Marca to the goalkeeper with the lowest goals-to-games ratio. A goalkeeper has to have played at least 28 games of 60 or more minutes to be eligible for the trophy. Hat-tricks ;Note (H) – Home ; (A) – Away Discipline Player * Most yellow cards: 15 ** Éver Banega (Sevilla) ** Mario Gaspar (Villarreal) * Most red cards: 2''' ** 11 players Team * Most yellow cards: '''115 ** Athletic Bilbao * Most red cards: 8''' ** Rayo Vallecano * Fewest yellow cards: '''71 ** Real Madrid * Fewest red cards: 0 ** Valladolid External links * Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional * Royal Spanish Football Federation 2018-19 Spain 1 Category:2018–19 La Liga